We should prosecute parents when kids kill

[marmar]

We should prosecute parents when kids kill
The San Diego mosque shooter got his guns from his mother. Should she face charges?

By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published May 22, 2026 6:45AM (EDT)


(Salon) Much remains unknown about the recent shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego that ended with three victims killed and the two teenaged suspects dead by their own hand. Initial reports from law enforcement suggest this was a hate crime. Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, were reportedly radicalized into white supremacy online, and left behind racist writings and symbols of Nazism and the Confederacy. A fuller view of their motives will no doubt emerge from the investigation, but in the meantime, one detail has emerged that’s all too common in cases with underage killers: Clark reportedly stole the guns used in the shooting from his mother.

San Diego police are yet to determine if they will file charges, but they have confirmed the weapons involved belong to a parent and not to either shooter. (The minimum age to legally purchase guns in California is 21.) Clark’s mother called the police before the shooting, telling them he had stolen her car and her guns, and was possibly suicidal. This is typical in these cases. In a 2025 analysis of school shootings committed by juveniles, the Washington Post found that in 86% of the 180 cases they examined, the weapons used came from the homes of friends, relatives or parents.

While more evidence needs to be collected in the San Diego shooting to determine the teenagers’ motives and access to guns, the larger trend shows that more needs to be done to hold adults accountable when minors snatch their weapons. In recent years there have been two high-profile prosecutions of parents of school shooters, but such accountability remains an under-used tactic by district attorneys. It’s one that should be used more; far too many gun-owning parents are careless, leaving firearms where kids can easily get to them.

....(snip)....

In 2024, Jennifer and James Crumbley received 15-year sentences for involuntary manslaughter after their 15-year-old son Ethan murdered four people at his high school in Oxford Township, Michigan. The case was reportedly the first time parents had been charged with homicide, although a researcher at Baylor University School of Law found that most states have prosecuted parents on other charges for violent crimes committed by children. ..................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2026/05/22/we-should-prosecute-parents-when-kids-kill/

[bucolic_frolic]

1. They got their attitudes from somewhere

Maybe the parents weren't explicit, and some kind of abuse or distorted parenting occurred in other areas, but this is not normal.

Maybe we need parenting courses in the US. Imagine the uproar. A war between psychologists and preachers ... NRA would likely be there too ... but something's amiss.

[bucolic_frolic]

2. attitudes ... said in Philly ... ATT-y-toodes ... one's demeanor toward life and society and people

need to 'splain sometimes, ok?

[MichMan]

3. No mention of the father

[Skittles]

4. I'm reluctant to always blame parents for the actions of their kids

but when parents LITERALLY supply the weapon they used? HELL FUCKING YES, prosecute them.